Eternal Love: 9 Lives Is Not Enough
by Stories From Lakewood
Summary: Future AU, No Killer. In the year 2022, Rachel and Audrey are now living together, but have started to drift away from each other. Can a furry problem bring them back together? Rated for Language, and other warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

**Eternal Love: 9 Lives Is Not Enough**

 **Summary: Future AU, No Killer. In the year 2022, Rachel and Audrey are now living together, but have started to drift away from each other. Can a furry problem bring them back together? Rated for Language, and other warnings inside.**

 **Thank you, ThePlotMurderers, for helping me out with this story. Couldn't have done this without you. And thank you, VanillaAshes, and PedRock for beta reading this story.**

 **Just as a warning to anyone reading this, this story does contain references to depression, past abuse, self-harm, and possibly PTSD. If any of that is potentially upsetting to you, it might not be the best idea for you to read this story.**

 **I don't own anything. This disclaimer covers the entire story.**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Lakewood, Louisiana, 2022**

"Shit!" came an irritated voice from the kitchen, followed by a string of other expletives.

Rachel got out of her chair and ran as fast as she could to the sound. "What happened?"

Audrey looked over from the running sink and replied, "Knife slipped and cut some of my fingers."

Rachel sighed as she looked over at the cutting board. Sure enough, the knife had some blood on it, and so did the vegetables. So much for vegetable stew for supper. She walked over to one of the cabinets and got out the well-stocked first-aid kit. As she took out the gauze, Audrey spoke.

"I've got it." She said glancing over.

Rachel looked up and asked, "You sure?"

"Yeah."

They sat in silence as Audrey started to patch herself up, but only after Rachel had insisted on looking at the wounds herself. The cuts weren't as bad as they had thought, and the knife hadn't gone to the bone.

But the cut had been across the top of three of her fingers, and had been at the knuckles. Which meant that she was going to have to wear splints until the wounds finally closed. But they couldn't do that until they had stopped the bleeding.

As Audrey finished wrapping the gauze around her fingers, Rachel decided to start a conversation. "Howard called."

Audrey looked up from her fingers and asked, "He still coming over tonight?"

"Yeah," replied Rachel, before she looked down at her left wrist. The scars were long faded, but still there. A reminder of a past that she didn't want any part of anymore.

Audrey nodded as she started to wrap an ace bandage around the gauze. "Good. Anything else?"

"Amanda said she wanted to spend dinner with her brother, Emma's on date with Kieran, and Noah and Riley are still coming."

They fell into another silence. Rachel glanced over to the kitchen and began to clean up the blood- It was the least she could do. Wasn't like she brought in the big money, Audrey's Indie films did that just fine. Compared to that, Rachel's articles in the local papers didn't amount to much. It was just like Pamela had said before she kicked her out. She'd never amount to anything, and that she'd always be nothing but a worthless piece of…

 _Stop it! Right now! You are_ _ **not**_ _worthless,_ Rachel thought to herself before she took a deep breath. Dr. Buffington had been a lifesaver. If it hadn't been for Dr. B- Rachel didn't like to think about what might have happened if she hadn't started seeing her.

As she set the knife and cutting board in the sink, and went to get a clean set out, she felt arms wrap around her waist and Audrey's head rest on her shoulder. "I love you."

Rachel smiled before she turned around and gave a Audrey a light kiss. "I love you too."

* * *

After Howard had said the blessing, they started to eat and Rachel couldn't help but smile. Seven years ago, she would've never imagined that her life would turn out like this, let alone that she'd still have a wonderful girlfriend, or even friends who actually cared about her.

Her thoughts were interrupted when Howard asked, "So, how's the week been, Audrey?"

Rachel looked over to Audrey as she replied, "Work's been ok, I guess."

"Has Greg gotten any new scripts?" asked Riley.

"A couple that he wants me to look over," was Audrey's curt response. Rachel frowned at that. Usually Audrey always shared what kinds of scripts Greg gave them.

"Any good ones?" she asked.

Audrey took a deep breath and said, "I just got them yesterday, and I haven't had a chance to look them over, ok?"

That silenced everyone for a few minutes. It was in that tone that Audrey used when she didn't want to be bothered anymore. Rachel looked over to Howard and saw a frustrated look on his face.

He finally said, "Audrey, I'd like to speak with you after supper, ok?"

Audrey nodded as she focused on her food. And with that, the conversation turned normal again. Or at least, as normal as it could be.

In the last few weeks, she and Audrey had been growing distant, and as much as she didn't want to admit it, Rachel was going into a bad episode. But she couldn't tell Audrey that right now. Not when they other things to worry about, like getting a good enough script to turn into a movie.

Soon, dinner had eaten, and Howard had gone with Audrey to talk in the living room privately, while Noah and Riley helped Rachel with the dishes.

"Hey Rachel, I got your deposit for this month," said Noah as he dried the dishes as Rachel washed them and she had to smile.

"You're a great landlord, Noah."

"And an even better husband," piped Riley and Noah gave her a quick peck on the lips at that. Noah had been given the store when the previous owner died, along with the apartments above it and was now their next door neighbor.

Rachel happened to see Noah turn around and stare at the living room. He asked, "What do you think they're talking about?"

"No clue." Rachel answered as she felt a slight pang go through her heart. She had a pretty good idea what they were talking about. And it wasn't something that she and Audrey had ever really talked about.

God, she wanted to walk down the aisle one day. But not the way her mo-Pamela, she corrected herself- had wanted. She wanted to walk down that aisle with a person she loved. Not somebody that was chosen for her.

Later on, after everyone had left, she found Audrey on the couch, a bottle of beer in her good hand, and in a sulk. Rachel plopped herself down next to her and asked, "You want to talk about it?"

Audrey downed the rest of her beer and gave her a strange look. "Why doesn't my Dad ever get mad at me?"

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

"No matter what I do, he never gets mad. He never yells, or shouts. I just…" Audrey began before she gave a sob, "I'm tired of being spoiled! I want him to yell at me! Just once!"

Rachel frowned and asked, "What'd you two talk about?"

Audrey gave a chuckle and said, "He…he wants to know when we're gonna get married."

"Oh..." Rachel wasn't surprised. Howard hadn't exactly been subtle in the fact he wanted them to get married.

Audrey frowned and asked, "Do you want to get married?"

Rachel looked over at her girlfriend and couldn't help but blush a bit as she asked, "Is that an offer?"

Audrey scoffed as she said, "No. I…I'm not ready for that."

Rachel shouldn't have been as crushed as she was. It shouldn't have hurt as much as it did. She took a breath and asked, "So we're just play house forever then?"

"Is that what you think this is?" It wasn't Audrey's face that betrayed anything, it was her quiet, hurt voice.

"No. I'm sorry…I didn't mean it like that."

Audrey put her face in her good hand and started to rub her eyes. Silence overtook the two women as they moved farther away from each other on the couch.

Rachel would be the first to admit that they didn't talk like they used to. They used to tell each other everything. Now? She felt like she barely knew the woman she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.

She finally got up and said, "I'm going to bed. See you in the morning."

As she pulled the covers over her, tears started to come to Rachel's eyes. What had brought them to this? To barely even knowing the other?

A couple of hours later, Rachel felt movement on other side of the bed. She stiffened up as the covers were pulled over. The last thing she remembered before she dozed off was Audrey putting an arm around her waist.

* * *

"Audrey, I'm not in the mood," was what Rachel muttered as she rolled onto her back. The tapping to her chest had woken her up.

Audrey had always been an early riser, and as Rachel had found out several times, she sometimes liked to wake her up in…unconventional ways.

But Rachel was still upset from last night, and if Audrey thought that trying to butter her up with sex was going to change that, she had another thing coming.

That's when she felt something climb on top of her chest and make it's way to her head. Then came the licking. It felt harsh, when did Audrey's tongue become so rough?

She opened her eyes, ready to tell Audrey to knock it off, when she saw it. It was a black kitten with yellow streaks sitting on her chest.

Her heart melted as she blinked a few times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. Audrey knew that she loved cats and that that was the answer to any problem. She reached over for it sniff her hand.

"Audrey, she's adorable! Where'd you find her?"

No answer came, so she called out again. When nothing came, she finally took a look at the clock…How the hell was it ten in the morning?

"She must be at work," she said to herself. She reached over and picked up her phone and texted Audrey _'I found your gift and I love her'._

Only seconds after she had hit send, she heard something from the living room. Taking the kitten in her arms, she got out of bed and made her way to where the noise had came from…Audrey's phone, that had just received her text.

 _She never leaves for work without it,_ Rachel thought to herself, before she went into the kitchen and got some milk out for her kitten.

As it began to drink it, Rachel happened to notice what was on it's neck. It was a silver chain necklace, with an Angel of Death pendant attached to it. The second part of a matching set Rachel had given Audrey for her 18th birthday. And as she turned it over, sure enough, the inscription read, ' _Eternal Love'_.

Rachel's hand went to her neck, where she had the other part of the set.

"Cute," she said before she got out her phone again and made a quick call to Greg. A few rings later, he answered, "Hello?"

"Hey Greg, it's Rachel. I was wondering if Audrey was with you? She forgot her phone."

"She's not here, Rachel. Never showed up."

Rachel hung up at that and began to tap her fingers against her phone. And as she did, the kitten started to rub against her arm.

She dialed another number, and soon a voice answered, "Rachel? Is everything ok?"

"It is, Howard. I was just wondering if Audrey was with you?"

"No, I haven't seen her since last night."

After that, she made several more calls and learned that Audrey wasn't with Noah and Riley, Amanda, Emma, or Brooke for that matter.

"Where the hell are you, Audrey?"

She felt guilty for doing it, but she looked over to the door, and sure enough, Audrey's keys were still there.

Rachel walked back into the bedroom to get dressed, and noticed what she hadn't earlier. Audrey's Batwoman PJ's and matching shirt were on her normal spot on the bed. Funny thoughts went through her head as Rachel imagined Audrey streaking in the streets of Lakewood.

A few minutes later, Rachel came out with a good set of jeans and a t-shirt on and walked back over to her kitten. And that's when she saw it.

On it's left front paw, there were splints, or something similar to them, on three of it's toes.

 _No way. That's impossible! Things like that just didn't happen…But the fur color, the splints, the pendant….Audrey's not run off, and she's not with any of our friends…_

 _Oh God._

She leaned in close to her kitten and asked, "Audrey…is that you?"

The kitten silent for a few seconds, before it reached out and bopped Rachel gently on the nose.

The next few minutes seemed to go by entirely too slow. As Rachel picked the kitten up and held it to her chest, she began to accept what had happened.

And then she let out a long, bloodcurdling scream.

 **What do you think so far?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Just as a warning to anyone reading this, this story does contain references to depression, past abuse, self-harm, and possibly PTSD. If any of that is potentially upsetting to you, it might not be the best idea for you to read this story.**

 **Chapter 2**

This can't be happening. how could this have happened? Rachel had finally stopped screaming enough to feel the sting of Audrey's claws on her. She realized that she was holding her too tight and loosened up her hold.

Why did this happen? How did this happen?

Before she process what was happening, she heard the front door bust in, and was about to run for the bedroom and grab her baseball bat-which Howard had given them as a housewarming present-when she turned around to see Noah and Riley come in, armed with their own bats.

"What's going on?" exclaimed Noah as his eyes dashed all over the place.

Rachel didn't answer him immediately, and instead tried to calm herself down by taking several deep breaths. It didn't help, and all she could do was blabber out words that she was sure didn't make any sense. She felt numb, and wanted to curl up in a ball and hide.

Her girlfriend was a cat. Audrey Gail Jensen, the woman that Rachel loved more than life, was a cat- and there was absolutely nothing she could do about it.

Riley lowered her bat and walked over. "Rachel, what's going on?"

It took several minutes, and both Riley and Noah setting Rachel down on the couch before Noah decided that, despite it nearly being lunch time, it was best everyone have some coffee, and then they could try and get an answer.

Soon, they had gotten several cups of strong black coffee into her, and Rachel had to admit it had calmed her down somewhat. At least she wasn't a blabbering idiot anymore.

"You good to talk now?" asked Riley calmly and Rachel nodded.

"Why'd you scream?" As she asked the question, Noah had finally noticed Audrey and smiled.

"Rachel, where'd you find this kitten? She's adorable!"

Rachel pinched her nose before she began with, "I woke up this morning, and found her on my bed…"

She took a deep breath and finished, "It's… it's Audrey. She's… been turned into a kitten."

Silence came over them for a little, before Noah started laughing. Rachel frowned and was grateful his wife wasn't laughing at this very serious matter.

"That's a good one! There's no way that's…" Noah started but ending up screaming as Audrey leapt from Rachel's arms and attacked his face.

"Get her off me! Get her off me!" he yelled as Audrey started to bite his nose. Rachel rushed over and with Riley's help managed to get Audrey off of Noah.

"She understands what you're saying, Noah. And this definitely real," said Riley as she took it in.

That's what set Noah off.

"No way! That's not possible!" he yelled out as he covered up his bite with his hand, "Things like this just don't happen! Audrey is not a cat!"

As he spoke the words, Audrey hissed from Rachel's arms.

Noah would've continued his rant, despite Audrey being poised to attack him again, if Riley hadn't chosen at that moment to grab Noah's head with her hands, and kiss him deeply. Rachel had to laugh at how direct she was.

And how Noah was shocked at first, but eventually started to kiss her back.

When Riley broke the kiss, she said, "Noah, sit down, and let handle this."

He gave a goofy grin when he replied, "Yes, Ma'am."

As Noah sat down on the side of the couch furthest away from Audrey and Rachel, Riley said, "We need to make some calls."

She let the words hang there for a few moments, before Noah finally asked the question on everyone's minds.

"So…who gets to tell Howard?"

* * *

"What do you mean my daughter's a cat?!"

Rachel had made the calls to everyone they deemed necessary. Emma hadn't been called. Despite being friends with her, it had been too big a risk to call her. She might think they were crazy.

And after Howard arrived, only a few minutes ago, Rachel had decided to be the one to inform him that his daughter was now a kitten.

It went as well as they had expected.

Howard paced back and forth in the living room while Rachel and Riley listened to him rant from the couch. He hadn't really said anything that hadn't been said so far. But Rachel had never seen him this upset before.

Just then, a tiny red dot came into the room, and Audrey pounced on it. Rachel had to suppress a laugh as Howard pinched his nose and said, "Noah, stop teasing Audrey!"

Noah snickered a little bit before Amanda walked out of the kitchen. She took the laser pointer away from him, but not before giving him a slap to the head.

"Keep doing that, and she'll be pissed when she's human again."

Rachel got up from the couch and gently picked Audrey up as Howard asked, "And?"

The blonde girl put the pointer in her shirt pocket and replied, "You know I'm not a Veterinarian yet, right?"

Riley piped, "You're the closest thing we have, and you wouldn't have called us crazy."

The older girl rolled her neck a little and replied, "Audrey is perfectly healthy, as far I can tell. She is absolutely adorable and…she can understand what we're saying."

Before Rachel could ask how they could change her back, Noah snarked, "Of course she can! Look what she did to my face!"

 _Noah, you are_ _ **NOT**_ _helping matters,_ thought Rachel before Howard angrily said, "You probably had it coming!"

Noah incredulously at the Minister, and asked, "Excuse me?"

"I know you. You're always that loudmouth who never knows when to keep his trap shut," replied Howard, his breathing becoming heavy.

Riley got off the couch as she said, "Howard, you need to calm dow…"

"Don't tell me when to calm down!"

"Hey! Don't talk to my wife like that!" yelled out Noah as she stepped closer to Howard.

"Why don't you not speak at all? It saves us all the trouble."

Rachel could do nothing as the two of them started a shouting match that caused her to drop Audrey to cover her ears. Howard snapping…the yelling…it began to take her back to horrible places. The constant shouting and beatings…Jason's absolute lack of any testicular fortitude to stand up to Pamela…

She started to breath heavily as everything began to blur. Rachel felt like screaming again, unable to focus on anything, or control what was happening.

"Come with me," the voice came with an arm, that gently took her and helped her into the hallway, away from the apartment. Rachel sank to the ground and put her hands over her ears and shut her eyes. She wanted to curl up in a ball and cry.

"Rachel, look at me," said the quiet voice.

She took her hands off of her ears and slowly opened her eyes to see Amanda kneeling in front of her.

"Rachel, you ain't at that bitch's house. Pamela ain't here, ok? You're safe."

Her breathing started to slow down, and Rachel tried to calm herself down. She was NOT at the bitch's house. Pamela was NOT there, and she could NOT hurt her anymore.

She looked at the older girl and asked, "What do we do?"

"We wait until everyone calms down, and then we try to find a solution…is that Audrey?"

Rachel turned around to see Audrey sneaking out the door of their home. She quickly yelled out, "Audrey, go back inside! It's not safe!"

As Rachel started to get up, Audrey seemed to just stare at them.

She quickly called out while patting her knees, "Come on, Audrey! Come here, girl!"

Maybe Audrey would listen, or maybe she'd just go back inside.

Instead, Audrey took off like a bullet down the hallway. Rachel instinctively grabbed Amanda as she tried to get up. She didn't remember what happened after that, because then both of them were on the floor, and the other girl had screamed out in pain.

Rachel looked behind her and grimaced. Amanda was clutching the nubs, hidden under her tactical pants, of where her legs had used to be. The tops of her prosthetics were barely covered by the pants legs.

She looked up at Rachel and said, "Go get her! I got this!"

Rachel nodded, got up and rushed down the stairs, in the same direction that Audrey had gone. To her horror, the door was open. Her breathing became quick and short as she ran out the door and started looking around. Her heart sank as she realized what had happened.

Audrey Jensen- her girlfriend and most recently, her kitten- had ran away.

 **What do you think? One more chapter to go.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just as a warning to anyone reading this, this story does contain references to depression, past abuse, self-harm, and possibly PTSD. If any of that is potentially upsetting to you, it might not be the best idea for you to read this story.**

 **Chapter 3**

 _This is utter bullshit._

That was what Audrey thought to herself as she ran down the sidewalks near Main Street. She had to get away, from everything and everyone.

Why had this happened to her? She had done absolutely nothing wrong, and suddenly one day, she had been transformed into a fucking cat!

 _Mom didn't do anything wrong either, and look what happened to her._

Audrey stopped for a minute to try and wipe whatever tears might have came to her eyes, but her tiny paws weren't helping matters. Why the hell did she have to think about that?

After a few minutes, she managed to wipe away the tears. This was all their faults. Rachel's, her Dad's, everyone. She didn't know how, but somehow it was their fault.

Audrey had never felt more humiliated in her life. Nina shoving her head down the toilet and giving her a swirly in the sixth grade, the video that almost went on the internet… and the incident that had nearly driven her to commit murder…none of that compared to her current situation.

Especially Noah teasing her with that stupid laser!

But the red dot had been so enticing, so mysterious. She had to chase it. Her instincts told her that there no other choice but to chase it!

Audrey looked around and took off again down the sidewalk.

Nina had almost posted a video of her and Rachel making out in the school parking lot. But Emma had stopped Nina from filming. She had yelled out for Audrey and Rachel to get out of there…

But that wasn't what nearly drove Audrey over the edge.

No, what did that was when Nina insulted her mother who had died not two days prior. It had trended so much on Twitter that it had made the area's top five tweets. If it hadn't been for Rachel, and her Dad…

She rounded a corner and continued running. Audrey knew where she was going. It was the one place that always seemed to bring peace to her mind.

Rachel was so clingy. Didn't she know that Audrey had her own fears and problems? Didn't she know that she constantly worried that she'd never be able to be good enough for her? For her Dad?

Her Dad…their relationship had always been strained. And after her Mom died, she had never felt like he could handle taking care of both her and Rachel.

And it was so irritating that he wanted them to get married! Where had his insistence been when she was a teenager, when she needed him the most?

As the thoughts went through her mind, she finally reached her destination: Wren Lake. The final resting place of Brandon James, town legend and the person she had idolized as a teenager.

It had been almost thirty years since Brandon had died. Almost three years since Audrey's movie about her quest to prove his innocence had been released. And yet whenever the odd day that she looked back on him came, she couldn't help but feel a connection to him.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a sudden growling from her stomach.

 _Food. I need food…ooh!_ Those were her thoughts when she saw a mouse cross in front of her.

 _Lunch!_

Within seconds Audrey had pounced and killed the tiny mouse quickly. As she started to bite into it, a wave of disgust came over her. Was this all she had to look forward to in life now? Killing some mouse just to eat?

She happened to glance over to the dock, where Brandon had died.

 _Now I know how you feel, Brandon. No one gave a shit about you, either._

"Watch your language, young lady."

A cold chill skated down her spine at the voice. One that she hadn't heard in seven years. Could it be? No, that was impossible…unless…

Audrey turned around, and sure enough, there was the ghost of Helen Jensen. Her mouth dropped and if she had been capable of speech she would've been stuttering.

Ghosts weren't real. She was never supposed to see her mother again, not after the cancer took her. Helen dying had all but sealed her opinion that life was just a big joke, and that nothing mattered.

But people weren't supposed to turn into cats either, and yet she had been. So maybe she had been wrong…

 _M…Mom?_

Tears came to her eyes as Helen picked her up and held her.

"I've missed you too, Audrey. But I'm not happy with you."

 _What…Why not…_

"Audrey, please stop talking, and listen."

Audrey's jaw dropped as Helen said that. As her hands petted her head, she continued, "Honey, you've been shutting out people in your life. The people who matter."

She started to purr and started nudge her head against Helen's hand. God, that felt so good.

"You've always been like this, but now it's getting out of control. Did you see how many people showed up, because you were in trouble?"

Audrey stopped purring. A lot of people had shown up…

"And why are you shutting out Howard and Rachel? The two people who have always been there for you and love you more than anything?"

Before Audrey could try to say anything, she felt a drop on her fur and looked up to get a raindrop land on her face. She looked back Helen, who nodded.

As she placed Audrey down, she said, "I'll see you again, Audrey. I love you."

 _No! Please…_ she began before Helen faded away, _Don't go._

If it hadn't started pouring, like Louisiana always did in the spring time, Audrey would've started crying. Instead, she started running.

She had to get back home. Or at least somewhere that wasn't wet.

* * *

It wasn't just pouring down rain, it had turned into a full-blown spring thunderstorm. Audrey had always disliked rain, but now? She hated it.

She was soaking wet, hungry, and absolutely miserable.

By the time Audrey had gotten back to Main Street, it was nearly flooded and there was no sign of the rain letting up anytime soon.

"Audrey!"

Her ears perked up at the voice. It was Rachel. She turned and there she was, with a towel over her shoulder, on the other side of the street, staring right at Audrey. God, she didn't even have an umbrella.

She had to get back to her and make up for the shit she'd pulled. But the streets were almost flooded. And she didn't know how good a swimmer she was as a cat.

 _Fuck it._

With a deep breath, Audrey sprinted across the street and almost immediately regretted it. The water was freezing cold! But she kept on moving. Then she heard the blast of a car horn and happened to turn her head.

A car was heading right for her and Audrey froze in fear. Her brain told her legs to move, but she couldn't. She closed her eyes and waited for the crash.

At least she'd get to see her Mom again.

But the impact never came and instead, she felt herself being lifted off the ground and under a familiar shirt. After a few minutes, she heard a voice ask, "Audrey?"

Audrey crawled out of the shirt to see her savior, when Rachel picked her up from her lap, wrapped her in a towel and held her close. They were inside the store, on the couch.

"Don't run away again!"

She could only let out a soft meow. Good to know she was missed. That's when she heard sniffling and looked up. Rachel was trying to fight back tears and refused to let go.

"I can't lose you, baby. Not with the way… it's been acting up…"

Audrey felt a wave of guilt come over her as Rachel said that. Oh God. How could she have so stupid?

"If I lost you... I don't know what I would do... I love you, Audrey and I want you back."

How could she have been so blind and missed the signs? How had they grown so far apart that she had missed them?

A realization came over Audrey. She'd been caught up in her own problems that she had started ignoring the ones Rachel had.

She had to help her. They had to come back together, because that's the only way they'd ever survive. That's when she felt herself hugging Rachel back. She was human again.

She said to her, "I am so sorry, Rachel. And I love you too."

Rachel's eyes opened and she gasped. Audrey smirked and said, "I ain't going anywhere."

"Audrey, that's great, but…"

She frowned and asked, "What?"

Rachel started to blush as she looked down. Audrey looked down too and had to gasp as she covered herself. Oh God, she was naked.

She quickly wrapped herself more with the towel and walked to the backroom. And a few minutes later, after Rachel had brought her some clothing, she walked out, to see Howard and Rachel waiting for her.

Rachel took a deep breath and asked, "How did you…"

"I'll tell you later, Rachel."

Howard looked like he was about to say something, but didn't. Silence came over them for a few seconds before she walked over to her Dad and gave him a bear hug, before Rachel hugged her from behind.

"I'm sorry guys. I really am."

Howard patted her back and began, "You really had us worried, Audrey…"

"…But we still love you," finished Rachel.

Audrey's heart warmed at that, and she felt a warm presence hold her too. It had to be her Mom. Maybe she would see her again one day.

But for right now, she needed to be there for the woman she loved. And maybe start fixing the relationship she had with Howard.

After a few more minutes, they broke off the hug and made their way back to the apartment. And as they entered, Noah, Riley and Amanda stood up from the couch, after Audrey heard collective gasping.

"Audrey…is that…" began Noah.

"Really you?" finished Riley.

She nodded before saying to each of them, "I'm…I'm really sorry for running away. I'm sorry for worrying each of you. And I want you to know that…I really appreciate all of you coming, when you thought I was in trouble."

Nobody said anything for a little while. And then, one by one, they each came up and formed a big group hug.

Then Noah asked, "And what about my nose?"

Audrey looked it over and replied, "Yeah, I'm sorry about that too."

* * *

 **Three Days Later**

Rachel sat in front of the laptop and thought about what she was going to write.

Things had become quite a bit different following that Monday, and Rachel had to admit that she was happy. Audrey had insisted that every day they take some time to just talk about anything that was on their minds.

"Rachel?" came Audrey's voice. Rachel turned around and saw Audrey standing behind her.

"Hey, you. What's up?"

Audrey pulled a chair over with her good hand and sat down next to Rachel. She said, "I've been thinking about last Monday…"

Rachel grinned. "You mean the incident that we swore never to speak of again?"

"Yeah. And…I…close your eyes for a minute, please."

Rachel was confused at that, but did. When she did, she felt Audrey take her left hand and slip something…Oh God, was this really happening?

"Ok, open them."

She did and looked down at her left ring finger. On it was an silver ring, with an onyx gem in it. She looked back up at Audrey and asked, "Is this…?"

"It's a promise ring, Rachel," Audrey replied, and Rachel had to grin as she blushed, "It's what my Dad gave to Mom, when they were still dating."

Rachel smiled as Audrey struggled to find the words to say. It wasn't often she got to see this side of her, the flustered, absolutely adorable side that she hid from everyone but her.

"I love you, Rachel, and I'm making you a promise that I'm yours forever," Audrey finished as she stared into Rachel's eyes, "And that when we're ready to get hitched, that we'll be together until they put us in the fucking ground."

Rachel pulled Audrey into a hug and smiled as she whispered, "I love you too."

Life wasn't going to be perfect for them. Rachel knew that. It was going to throw twists and turns at them like nothing else mattered.

But she couldn't think of anyone else she'd rather experience it with.

 **The End.**

 **I hope everyone enjoyed this story. Expect more from us in the future.**


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